SEVASTOPOL, April 02./ITAR-TASS/. Russian Federal Migration Service has started receiving applications from local people who do not have permanent registration in Crimea but who work and permanently reside in the federal city of Sevastopol. They can either apply for a Russian passport or remain citizens of Ukraine, a Federal Migration Service source told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

“We are going to consider each particular case individually,” Ruslan Kozhukhov, the acting deputy chairman of the Russian Federal Migration Service for Sevastopol, told Itar-Tass.

About 2,000 people are willing to apply for the Russian citizenship in Sevastopol and get it according to simplified procedures.

“We joined the queue on Sunday. There are 1,700 people on the list. People keep coming and the waiting list is getting longer,” said Sergei Shakirov, a member of an initiative group formed of people who want to apply for the Russian citizenship.

It takes time for the Federal Migration Service department to process all the documents. There have been no approvals or refusals as of yet.

About 50 people have applied to the Federal Migration Service for Sevastopol with a request to give up the Russian citizenship and preserve the citizenship of Ukraine.

“There are no restrictions for the citizens of Ukraine who have resided in the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol. They are not obliged to leave their territories. We are going to receive as many people as possible,” the Federal Migration Service source said.